Graveyard staff ignore government rates, collect hefty toll

Hyderabad: Graveyards and crematoriums are disproving an old adage that with death, all debts are paid. When a family loses its precious member, having faced travails with hospitals and treatment, illness and suffering, even the last journey loses all solemnity and dignity as they have to face a pandemic-imposed chaos, queues, and hassles, and inflated prices.

Understanding the difficulties of families, Chief minister K. Chandrashekar Rao had given clear instructions to the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) to impose a fixed tariff of Rs 8,000 for performing last rites on a funeral pyre using wood and Rs 4,000 for electric cremation.

Municipal administration and urban development principal secretary Arvind Kumar was on a spree of surprise inspections on Monday to ensure no additional charges in the city graveyards and crematoriums.

Kumar, along with zonal commission P. Pravanya, made a surprise visit to Panjagutta and Bansilalpet cremation grounds. Kumar went to check whether the public were being made to pay more than the prescribed rates.

An official release said that Kumar expressed satisfaction over the prescribed rates being followed. He observed that GHMC employees were stationed at every centre to check the same. He also inspected crematoriums located in Punjagutta, Bansilalpet and Jubilee Hills as part of the surprise inspection. He also inspected the amenities at crematoriums and checked the electric cremation facility in Punjagutta.

But all of this has not had the desired results. At Amberpet crematorium, the staff struck off the government price list and made it clear to people that they would be collecting a fee far higher than the official tariff. The staff eventually collected whopping amounts from family members who came to cremate bodies.

Deccan Chronicle during field inspections found out that crematorium staff at Amberpet in Secunderabad zone completely shut down the electric crematorium. When asked about the amounts being charged for a funeral, even before some of the family members could respond, Amberpet staff got into a confrontation and asked the reporter to delete photographs taken.

However, a family member said the crematorium staff demanded Rs 40,000 to conduct the last rites on a wooden pyre, but after negotiations, agreed to conduct the cremation for Rs 25,000.

“What option do we have but pay the amount demanded. When we showed the price list, the staff said Rs 25,000 is the final price or else shift the body to Erragadda crematorium, where we have to wait for two hours. With no option left we offered the price demanded to complete the final rites,” said the kin of the deceased.

According to official data, there are 960 graveyards and crematoriums in Hyderabad city limits. Several of these graveyards no long have much space left to bury bodies. Crematoriums at Bansilalpet, Panjagutta, Amberpet and SR Nagar have modern facilities, including electric crematoriums. However, the crematorium at SR Nagar became defunct for the last six months as the management did not clear electricity bills. Out of two crematoriums in Bansilalpet, only one has been functioning.

Even though several of the crematoriums have not cremated Covid-19 bodies but are collecting whopping amounts for non-Covid-19 cremations too.